Movable doll and the like



June 30, 1942. ROTHSCHlLD 2,288,371

MOVABLE DOLL AND THE LIKE Filed March 14, 1939 WITNESS E T- ATTORNEYS Patented June 30, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOVABLE DOLL AND THE LIKE Application March 14, 1939, Serial No. 261,711 In Germany May 13, 1938 Claims.

This invention relates to movable dolls and the like and its principal object is to provide a toy puppet in which the head and limbs are actuated b string or wire mechanism contained within the puppet to move in a manner which imitates the movements of the living being of which the puppet is an image.

Another object of the invention is to provide a puppet in which the limbs and head thereof are retained in their normal resting positions either because of their own weight or through spring pressure and are movable from such resting positions in a life-like manner by means of threads, rods, wires or the like which are actuated by a crank or eccentric under the influence of a spring motor.

Other objects as well as the novel features of the invention will become more apparent after a perusal of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig, 1 is a top plan view of a doll made in accordance with the invention, the body thereof being broken away to show the interior operating mechanism; Fig. 2 is a side view of the doll shown in Fig. 1 with the body broken away to show a side view of the interior operating mechanism and Fig. 3 is a rear view of the doll.

In the drawing the numeral l0 indicates the body of the doll which may be made of relatively stiff cardboard or pressed paper and the like and shaped to form a hollow body. The upper end of the body is provided with a circular aperture within which is secured a hollow seat or socket ll preferably made of similar material and adapted to receive the ball-shaped neck portion H of the head l3, such neck portion l2 and seat ll forming a ball and socket connection whereby the head is enabled to be inclined at a large number of angles with respect to the body. The head l3 of the doll may be made of Celluloid or any other suitable material and is attached to the body II] by means of a spring M which is secured at its top end to the rear of the neck portion l2 and at its other end to the upper rear portion of the body In, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing, The spring l4 serves to maintain the ball and socket connection between the neck portion l2 and the seat I l and to return the head to its normal resting position after movement therefrom as will hereinafter become more apparent.

The body It) is provided adjacent its upper end with a pair of arms and I6 which may be made of a fabric covering material shaped to form and stuffed with cotton, kapok or the like. The arms I5 and It may be movably attached to the body of the doll in any suitable manner so that their weight will bring them back to their resting positions after movement therefrom. In the construction illustrated the arms are pivotally attached to the body H) by means of coiled springs 2| and 22 which are attached at one end to the under sides of the arms l5 and [6 near the upper ends thereof, respectively, and at their other ends to the ends of a cross bar 23 made of wood or the like and extending crosswise through the upper portion of the hollow body It. The advantage of this construction is that the springs 2| and 22 cooperate with the weight of the arms to bring the armsback more positively to their resting positions. It will be understood, however, that other methods of attaching the arms to the body may be utilized, for example, the fabric material of which the arms are formed may be cut to provide a surplusage of material at the upper ends of the arms and these fabric extensions may be secured as by stitching to the shoulder portions of the body so that the arms may be moved readily upwardl or outwardly from the body while yet allowing them to return to their resting positions under their own weight. Attached to the lower end of the body [I] as by means of the lines of stitching 20, 20 is a pair of legs l8 and 19, such lines of stitching 20, 2D enabling the legs l8 and 19 to be moved upwardly when the doll is lying on its back or disposed in a sitting position.

It will be evident from the foregoing, that the doll is constructed so that when it is lying in a supine position the head and arms are maintained at rest by means of their weight and the coiled or spiral springs l4, 2| and 22 associated therewith while the legs l8 and I9 are maintained in their resting positions solely by their own weight. When the arms or legs of the doll are raised while the doll is in a sitting position their weight will tend also to return them to a lowered inactive position after the cessation of the lifting forces. It will also be evident that the head and limb groups of the doll are connected to the body so that they can be moved readily into a large variety of positions relative to the body either manually or by adjustment of the actuating mechanism now to be described.

In the middle of the hollow doll body I0 there is provided a supporting frame comprising a frame plate 24 having a plurality of tongue members 25 which extend rearwardly through slots provided in the rear of the body Ill and are bent over against the outer surfaces of the body to secure the frame plate 2 3 in position with respect to such body. Secured to the frame plate 24 is a U-shaped frame plate 26 whose top and bottom legs may be fastened to the upper and lower ends of the frame plate 24 in any suitable fashion. Rotatably supported by the frame plates 24; and 26 is a square shaped pin 21 which extends rearwardly through an aperture in the back of the body W to enable the application of a winding key to the protruding end thereof. Encircling the pin 27 and secured at one end thereto, is a spring motor 28 whose other end extends upwardly through the upper leg of the frame plate 25 and is secured thereto. Also mounted on the pin 2'5 adjacent the frame plate 26 is a gear wheel 29 having a circularly shaped bore through its hub so that the pin 2i may be moved relative thereto during the winding up of the spring motor 28 and being provided with a plurality of holes 343 arranged in a circular fashion about the hub of such gear wheel. Secured to the pin Ell intermediate the spring motor 28 and the gear wheel 29 is a spring clutch plate 3i provided at each end with a tongue or projection 32 which extends in opposed relation to the other projection 32. The projections 32 are arranged on the spring clutch plate 3! so that they are disposed in the annular region defined by the holes fill on the gear wheel 29 and are inclined towards such wheel so that they may project into a pair of diametrically opposed holes 3!) of the wheel 29, this form of the projections 32' and the spring like nature of the clutch plate 3i enabling such projections to slip over the portions of the wheel 29 between the holes 36 during the winding operation and to enter the holes 33 and engage with the portions of the gear wheel 29 between such holes to drive the wheel in a clockwise manner, as viewed in Fig. 1 of the drawing, when the pin 2? is rotated under the influence of the spring motor. The gear wheel 29 engages with a pinion 33 secured to a shaft 3 3 which is rotatably supported by the frame plates 26 and 24. The shaft 3% also carries a spur wheel 35 which engages with an elongated pinion 35 positioned below the shaft 3& and having reduced ends which are rotatably mounted in apertures provided in the frame plates 24 and 25. Secured to the elongated pinion 35 is a gear 37 which engages with an elongated pinion 38 whose reduced ends are rotatably mounted in aligned apertures of the frame plates 24 and 26, and which is positioned adjacently to the lower leg of the frame member 25.

The shaft 35 projects forwardly from the frame plate 25 and at its forward end is provided with an eccentric or single crank 39 whose forwardly extending arm it? is reduced intermediate its ends to provide an annular groove. Encircling the reduced portion of the arm lli of the crank 39 is one end of a wire or rod il, such rod extending lengthwise of the body towards the head l3 of the doll and through an opening provided in the hollow seat l i to terminate at a position just under the chin of the doll and being secured to the neck portion l2 of the head at a point diametrically opposite the point of attachment of the spring l4. Also secured to the reduced portion of the arm it of the crank 39 are a plurality of flexible draw members #32, at, 3 and 35 made of thread, string or fine wire and which extend from the crank toward and through the spaced openings (l6, is and 59, respectively, provided in the body of the doll adjacent to the limbs l5, 16, I8

and I9, respectively. The threads or strings 42, 43, M and 45 pass through the limbs l5, [6, l8 and i9, respectively, adjacent to the latters points of attachment with the body l8 and are secured to such limbs in any suitable manner. The crank 39 is thus connected to the limbs of the doll through the flexible draw members 42', A 13, 54 and 45.

It will be evident from the foregoing description of the parts that as the shaft 34 and crank 39 are rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1 of the drawing, under the influence of the spring motor 28, each of the threads or flexible draw members 32, d3, 44 and 45 will be actuated in turn in a counterclockwise manner to raise the arms and legs of the doll and the wire or rod 4! will function as a connecting rod to cause a nodding movement of the head of the doll. After being thus actuated, the head, when the doll is in a supine position, is returned to its resting position by its own weight and by means of the spring l4 and the arms and legs are returned to their resting positions by their own weight, the arms being assisted in this return movement by the springs 2i and 22. Thus as the spring motor unwinds, while the doll is in a supine position, the head, arms and feet of the doll are given movements which closely simulate the movements of a human baby and seem natural. This naturalness is enhanced by means of an eccentrically formed weight 5E] which is mounted on the reduced forwardly extending portion of the pinion 38 and which during its rotative movement imparts a vibratory effect which causes the body of the doll to appear to squirm in a manner closely simulating the squirming movements of an actual baby. When the doll is in a sitting position, the threads M and 45 are slackened to such an extent that only the threads 42 and i3 and wire 4| efiectively impart movement from the crank to the arms l5 and It and the head l3, respectively. It will also be evident that the nature of the draw members is such that the head and limb groups of the doll can be moved independently of the actuating mechanism,

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the toy puppet instead of having the form of a human baby may have the form of any animal and in place of the strings 42 to 45, wires or rods or other smilar means may be employed. Also in place of the spiral or coiled springs illustrated, other yieldable resisting means may be used, such as for example. leaf springs, elastic cords or the like. As the head is connected to the body by a ball and socket connection, it is evident that by changing and varying the connection of the connecting rod with respect to the crank and the head and varying the position of the spiral spring I l, many kinds of movements of the head can be obtained. It will be also understood that a speaking device may be incorporated in the doll so as to be driven by the spring motor and thereby cause the puppet to emit cries during the movement of the several appendages.

I claim:

1. A movable doll or the like comprising a hollow body, a head separate from said body, spring means connecting said head with said body, limbs movably attached to said hollow body and having positions of rest, a spring motor contained in said hollow body, an eccentric driven by said spring motor, draw members connecting said head and each of said limbs to said eccentric and adapted upon rotative movement of said eccentric to move said limbs successively from their resting positions and to coact with said spring means to move said head, a shaft, gearing connecting said shaft with said spring motor and a weight eccentrically mounted on said shaft so that as the latter is rotated by said spring motor, the body portion of the doll is given a vibratory squirming motion.

2. A doll or the like such as defined in claim 1, in which said body is formed to lie in a supine position and in which said limbs are hinged so as to enable them to remain in a resting position by their own weight and to be raised from such position by the reciprocating movements imparted to said draw members by said eccentric, said spring means and the draw member connected to said head coacting to cause said head to intermittently lift the upper portion of the body from a supine position during the movements of the eccentric.

3. A doll or the like, such as defined in claim 1 in which at least two of said limbs are connected to said body portion by yieldable means arranged to maintain said limbs in their normal rest positions and to yieldably resist movement of said limbs away from such positions.

4. A movable doll or the like, comprising a hollow body portion, a hollow socket provided on the upper end of said body, a head provided with a ball-shaped neck portion seated in said hollow socket, spring means connecting said head with said body to maintain said ball and socket connection, limbs movably attached to said hollow body, a spring motor contained in said hollow body, an eccentric driven by said spring motor, draw members connecting said head and each of said limbs to said eccentric and adapted upon rotative movement of said eccentric to move said limbs successively from their inactive positions and to pivot said head about the seat engaging ball-shaped neck portion thereof, said spring means aiding the draw member connected to said head when such member is moved in one direction by said eccentric and yieldingly resisting the movement of such member by said eccentric in the opposite direction, a shaft, gearing connecting said shaft with said spring motor and a weight eccentrically mounted on said shaft so that as the latter is rotated by said spring motor, the body portion of the doll is given a vibratory squirming motion.

5. A self-contained doll or the like formed to lie in a supine position on a supporting surface, comprising a hollow body having a front portion and a back portion, a head separate from said body and movably connected to the latter by a portion thereof projecting into said body, said head being adapted to rest on the supporting surface by its own weight, limbs pivotally connected to said body for movement away from the supporting surface and adapted by their own weight to return to lowered positions, a spring motor contained in said hollow body, an eccentric driven by said motor, a relatively rigid draw member connected to said eccentric and to said head at a surface portion of the latter spaced from said body, said draw member supporting said head on said body and adapted upon movement of said eccentric alternately to lift said head from the supporting surface and to permit said head by its own weight to return to the supporting surface, spring means supporting said head on said body and adapted to yieldingly resist movement of said head away from the supporting surface and to aid said head in returning to such surface, a flexibl draw member connecting each limb to said eccentric, said flexible draw members projecting through apertures in the front portion of said body and being connected to upper portions of said limbs beyond the points of connection thereof with said body, whereby said limbs are moved successively upwardly away from the supporting surface against the pull of their weight.

JULIUS ROTHSCHILD. 

